WP Plugins for Medical Professionals

One of the great advantages of WordPress as a platform is that there is a huge library of software available. Plugins allow WordPress designers and users to add all kinds of functionality to websites without hours and hours of coding — and usually the plugins are supported and updated so that they don’t become obsolete and have to be replaced or rebuilt. WordPress medical plugins can give you functionality at your website that would have been very costly in the past.

This means an enormous savings of time and money for website owners. It also means that a small medical practice can have fancy stuff at their website which might not have been practical in a traditional website.

Website basics

An easy form builder that lets you do everything from accept a question or contact from a visitor to creating online patient intake forms. There are many other choices of form builders, but this one continues to be a favorite because it’s easy and trouble-free.

There are many different options for online appointment bookings, so you might start with this one and explore other options. Allowing clients and patients to schedule their own appointments is an extremely popular option for healthcare websites, and a booking engine that lets you set the parameters is important. You’ll want to be able to set margins between appointments, black out lunch breaks, approve reservations and send confirmation emails, at the least. Jituzu Tools provides HIPAA-compliant booking; it requires a paid membership. Doctor Appointment Booking is a new option that integrates billing.

Again, there are lots of choices for event calendar plugins with WordPress; this is one that we use and like. If you offer patient education events, you’ll want a simple way to let patients and community members sign up, without adding to the workload of your team.

While we often build custom staff pages, a plugin can speed up the process. You might be surprised by how many prospective patients will scrutinize the photos of your team before they decide to come in to see you.

CRM integration

There’s no single plugin to recommend here, because you’ll want the one that integrates with your chosen CRM solution, like Salesforce or Zoho. If you already use a CRM, find the plugin that will let it integrate with WordPress. If you haven’t sprung for one, check out WP-CRM for a simple, economical option. MJM Clinic is an add-on for WP-CRM designed for the medical practice.

Useful extras

The NIH Cancer Dictionary plugin allows your site visitors to check definitions of terms used in discussing cancer. Your widget will be automatically updated when the NIH updates their dictionary. The link above is the CM Tooltip glossary plugin you can use to build your own glossary for your website.

You need a map on your website so that new patients can easily find you. An interactive Google map will stay up to date and show custom maps. There are lots of Google Maps plugins, but WP GMappity is one of the easiest to use on your own.

Pulling in posts from PubMed will not replace a blog at your website, but this plugin makes it easy to search PubMed from your website. You can even post abstracts you feel your patients would find valuable. There’s also a plugin for Treato if you’d like to introduce this medical crowdsourcing tool to your patients — perhaps with a note about the ups and downs of medical crowdsourcing. You know they do it, so you might want to be part of the conversation. It’s worth noting that there have been quite a few medical news feed plugins, and many are not supported any longer. If you’ve tried feeds in the past, you might find it worth trying again.

This collection of calculators includes many health-related ones, from body composition to baby’s due date. Customize the look of the calculator and plug it into your page or post for the convenience and information of your website visitors.

Can we help you?

With any of these plugins — and any number of others — you may need help in configuring the plugin. You may need a hand to make it look good on your website, or to work out compatibility issues with your other website elements. Just as you encourage your patients to get professional help when they need it, you should get help from website professionals when you need it. Call 479.966.9761 or use our contact form and we’ll be happy to help.